Lasting-machine.



A. PERRI.

LASTING MACHINE.

' I I APPLICATION HLED AUG 26, 1915- I 1,168,963. Patented Jan. 18,"1916.

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Patented J an. 18, 1916.

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LASTXNGMACHINE. APPLICATXON FILED AUG.26,1915.

Patented Jan'.1s',1916.

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. A. PERRL LASTING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED AUG- 26, 1915.

Patented Jan. 18, 1916.

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LASTING MACHINE. APPLICATION HLED AUGIZB, 1915.

Patented Jan, 18, 1916'. I

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A. PERRL LASTING MACHINE.

APPLlCATION FILED AUG-25, 1915.

1,168,963. Patented Ja11.18,1916.

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LASTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.'26. 1915.

1,168,963. I Patented Jan. 18, 1916.

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ANGELG 1 331232, OF GROVELAND, MASSAGHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR- TO REESE SHOEMACHINERY COMPANY, .OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

LASTI'NG-ZVEAGHINE.

Application filed August 26, 1915.

To (ZZZ whomit may concern:

Be it known that l, ANGELO Pnunr, .a citizen of the United States,residing at Grovelsnd, in the county of Essex and State of have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in LastingJilinchines, of which. thefollowing is a specifioetion, reference being lie-d therein to the accompenying drawin This invention pertains to the art, oi shoe" lastingand involves a novel shoe lasting machine. In the manufacture of shoesby various systems, a sectional Wooden last, or some other removablelast, is employed for the purpose of iving form to the upper of theshoe. The upper is usually made of flexible leather and provided with acloth lining. Tie finished shoe comprises an insole or an outsolenrboth.lhe lusting process is for the purpose of shaping the upper andassembling or securing it with the sole (insole or outsole), about thelast as a form. The lasting-process involves the preliminary step ofloosely assembling the upper, the last and the sole.

The operations with which the present invention is particularlyconcerned, coinprise What may be considered as three distinct steps. Thefirst of'these steps isjthe pulling-over operation. lhis consists inpreliminarily forcibly pulling the upper around the last at the forepart. of the shoe,

namely, at the front of the toe and at the two sides near the toe. Thispullingover operation customarily includes a temporary securing of themargin of the pulled-ever upper to the bOt'tOHlSlClf of the sole andlast by means of tacks or other securing means.

The second step or operation what is usually known as the side lastiiig" operation. T his consists in smoothing or wiping the side margins ofthe upper about the lust along the sides or shanks of the shoe, and inthis region securing the upper to the sole for example, by means oftacks driven through the upper and sole, and clenched against the metalbottom of the last. The final operation includes the lusting of the heeland the toe. both of which are usually performed in a single machine.The operation consists in smoothing'or u'ipin and pressing theoverhanging material of the up per into place about the last andsecuring it. At the heel the securing is usually permenently done bytacking through the upper Specification of Letters Patent.

one for the side lasting operation, and one Patented Jen, Serial No.47,437.

and sole by tacks which are clenched. against the last. it the toe thesecuring may consist of it permanent tacking, according to the h'lcliaysystem of shoe manufacture, but in the Welt system the securing of theedges ot the Weltut the toe is temporarily el'ected, for example, bymeans of a short piece of Wire held by temporary nails. These de cribedoperations constituting the lasting process are p'repztratory to thesubsequent steps in the manufacture of the shoe, which with some systemsinclude the attachment of the outsole, this in the case of the weltsystem being preceded by the stitching to the margin of the upper of astrip or welt to which the outsole is subsequently stitched.

Heretofore in practice the three operations referred to, namely, thepulling-over, th side lasting and the heel and toe lasting havesometimes been done entirely by hand. In other cases, the operationshave been performed partly by hand and partly by machine. W hen doneentirely by machine, tie lasting process has in practice invariably involved the use of at least three SEPtl-litiililiichines, one for thepulling orer operate employedi'or any two or all operations.

. The principal object of the present invert tion is to minimize in thenumber of mechincs and, therefore, in the number of op e etions andamount of handling require n the manufacture of shoe, and, 111 0 cielly,to utter l a single lusting ir which hoe, that is the uss in. and solewith the lust, utter 7 the machine, may be subjectedlo the operationsdescribed, namely, p over, the side lasting and the heel e1 lastinwithout removal or detachment of the shoe and by the labor of 21- singlecperzn tor. This results, not only in an economy of time. tloor space,and labor, but insures e better output of the lasting process, becauseit throws the entire responsibility for the lasting process upon asingle operator, whe eas lui etofore the need of successive operatorsii'lcreuscd the likeliutiou and defects belmod (it our cause of thebility.

in piecing isponsi- Among the various other objects to which toe lastingoperation upon the shoe; By

this means the machine is made to effectively cooperate in theperformance of the three stated operations upon the shoe, so that thevarious instrumentalities concerned in the several operations areharmonized or correlated with each other by means of the uni versal jackreferred to; The operations are tluis enabled to he performed in quicksuccession, so that any reheating or softening of the toe of the shoe isdispensed with, such as would be necessary with a lapse of time due totransfer from one machine to another. A high degree of pliability isnecessary for the final lasting, and wouldbe lost'by any substantialdelay between the pulling-over and lasting o 'ierations.

A further object of the invention to so,

constitute themechanisms as to adapt them to performingthe lastingoperations upon either a right shoe or a left shoe, in a simple,convenient and rapid manner, and without either requiring the removal ofthe shoe from the jack, or a movement of the operator from his originalposition in front of the machine.

.A further object of the present invention is to provide wiper-platcmechanism, such as to permit the independent adjustment of thewiper-plates toward or from each other.

A further object of this invention is to effectively perfor correct anduniform lasting of shoes, either rights of lofts; without the need ofemploying nails or tacks or similar temporary securing means for theupper, during the preliminary operations. Specifically, it is an objectto secure this result by the provision of a novel clamping means,adapted to be brought into effect after the shoe hasjbeen positioned onthe jack, and preferably after the first or pulling-over operationthereon. this clamping means being of suchcharacter as to remain inengage ment with the shoe to hold it firmly connected to the lasttlN'OUZ'liFii? the. shifting movements and lastii'ig operations upon theshoe, and adapted further to positively hold the shoe upper and toe capin true position upon the last. This portion of the invention obviatesany impairment of the alinement of the toe cap during the final lastingoperation as is apt to occur when merely tacks are employed for thetemporary securing of the upper.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention willappear during .part thereof, Figure l is a complete front elevation ofa. lasting machine embodying the present invention. The parts are showneration and after the clamp has been closed, but before any shifting ofthe jack. Fig.2 is a left side elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1.Fig. 3 is a plan view of the machine shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Figs. 4 toL0 refer particularly to the shoe-supporting jack. Fig. 4 is a ieftelevation of the jack showing a shoe clamped thereon, and held inpulling-over position. 5isa front eleva tion of the parts shown in Fig.4, that is, looking at the righthand side of Fig. 4e. Fig. 6 is a leftelevation similar to Fig. 4, but with the jack shifted so that the shoestands in 'the proper posture for the side lasting operation. Fig. 7 isa front elevation of the parts seen in- Fig. 6, that is, looking at therighthand side of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8, in left elevation, shows the jack,

mechanism again shifted to heel and. toe

. in their position after the piiliing-over'oploo lasting position. Fig.9 shows a front eleration of the parts seen in Fig. 8, that is, lookingat the righthand side of Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a top plan view of the partsseen in Figs. 8 and 9. In these three figures the shoe is bottom sideup, with the heel to the operators right hand, and the toe to his left.Fig. 11 in -left elevation, shows the devices carried by or with thejack, for clamping or retaining the shoe in fixed position relatively tothe jack, the same for convenience of illustration, being tilted intoupright position. Fig. 12 shows the same parts partially incross-section, upon the plane 12 4'? of Fig. 11. Figs. 13 to 15 refer toa modi ed form of shoe-clamping device. Fig. 13 is a ieft elevation ofthe modified clamping devices shown in. pulling-over position. Fig.

14 is a front elevation of the parts seen in Fig. 13, that is, lookingfrom the righthand side of Fig. 13 sectioned to L 1; clearly illustratethe conwith the shoe itself shown Y struction. 'Fi a top plan view ofthe mechanism shown inFigs. 13 and 14, but ad usted into the final orheel and toe lasting position, the shoe being Figs. 16 to 1.8 referparticiilarly to the pull;-

bottom side up,

ing-over mechanism. Fig. 16 is an enlarged left elevation of thepulling-over mechanism shown in the preceding figures. Fig. 1'7 is afront view of the parts shown in Fig. 16, looking in the direction ofthe arrow 17. Fig. 18 is an enlarged detail view of a gripper-controllinmember. Figs. 19 to 29 re rer more particularly to the heel lastingmechanism. Fig. 19 is a front elevation of the heel lasting mechanism.Fig. 20 is a top plan view thereof, with certain upper parts removed.Fig. 21 is a planview of the heel wiping devices themselves, with a partof their actuating mechanism. Fig. 22 is a plan view of the heel wiperplat-es detached. Fig. 23 is a plan view of the heel wiper plate carrierdetached. Fig. 24: is an enlarged perspective view of one of the wiperplate operating cams. Fig. 25 is a top plan view of part of the heelclamping mechanism which is associated with the heel-wiping devices.Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken onthe plane 26-26 in Figs. 1 and 19.27 is a top plan view similar to 25, but showing the parts in heelclamping position. Fig. 28 is a detail view of certain parts seen fromthe righthand side of Fig. Fig. 29 is a section taken on the plane ofFigs. :27 and 28. Figs 30 to et'er to the toe lasting mechanism. Fig. 30s a front elevation. Fig. 31 isa top plan v'ew of the mechanism at theright hand of F g. 30, with the top cover plate removed. Fig. 32 is avertical section taken on the of liig. 30. Fig. 33 is a vertien on thebroken plane of Fig. 31.

The same reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

The illustrated portions of the partly constructed shoe are the upper 35and the sole or insole 56, the wooden last being inclos'ed between them.

The several component mechanisms,which together make up the completemachine of th application. are shownin a general way and in theircoiiperativc. relative positions in the assembled views. 1, and 3. Therelative arrangement of the dilierent mechanisms will lirst'. bedescribed on these figures and subsequently the structure and operationof the respective mechanisms will be separately described, and finallythe operation of the machine as a whole showing the coiiperative actionof the several mechanisms.

The machine and its operation are such that the operator may stand inplace througho it the lasting process on each shoe, namely. in aposition standing directly in trout ot' the machine. facing the centerof the machine and the shoe held therein, from which he may reach byhand or foot the various controlling levers, wheels, etc.

The main frame orbody or base 37 of the machine is shown as providedwith an upstanding bracket 38 at the rear which supports thepulling-over mechanism, a high bracket 39 which supports the controllevers for the pulling-over mechanism, and an upstanding bracket 10 nearthe right-hand side for carrying the work supporting mechanism or jack.Other fixed parts and frame parts in the machine will be hereinafterreferred to in detail when describing the associated mechanism. Itshould here be mentioned that sometimes a frame part or fixed member maybe employed for giving initial support to the shoe during thepulling-over operation; and such a member ell is shown in the modifiedstructure Fig. 16, although in the principal embodiment the shilitablework support or jack is made use of for this purpose. The initialposture of the shoe is upper side on top with the toe pointing from theoperator and at a higher level than the heel, giving a. convenient slantas seen in Figs. 1 to 3, in which the operator has a complete view ofthe toe portion of the upper during the pulling-over operation.

The locus of the shoe when first placed in the machine and during thepulling-over operation'is at the upper central part of the machine intront of the operator as seen in Figs. 1 to The shoe, moreover,preserves this convenient locus throughout the dilii erent postureswhich it assumes at different stages of the lasting process. Thisadvantageous result, serving to keep the shoe always at the same angleand distance from the operators eye, is attained by the novel jackconstruction, later to be described.

The pulling-over mechanism a2 is, seen in Figs. 1 to to be locatedgenerally to the rear of and beneath the locus of the shoe, supported onbrackets 38 and The shoe upper, in its original unstretched condition,stands out from the sides and point of the toe and the function of thepulling-over mechanism is to grip the edges of the upper at the forwardextremity and at the sides of the toe and pull or stretch it downwardly,in a. general direction at right angles to the sole of the shoe so as tocause the material of the upper to skirt or hang below the last and solethroughout the periphery of the shoe. This operation is an extremelydeli cate one requiring close observation and frequently readjustment ofthe pulling-over grippers and correcting operations thereof to secureperfection and symmetry in this important preliminary step of thelasting process. It will be seen that the locus and posture of the shoeand direction and action of the pulling-over mechanism 42 conduce tothese results. T he details of the pullingover mechanism are shown inFigs. 16 -20.18.

After the pulling-over ope a tion there comes into play the jackmechanism 43, which is carried. by the bracket to and may constitute theshoe support during the pulling-over. Associated with or forming part ofthe jack mechanism 43 is a clamping mechanism 4% adapted, after thepullingover is completed. to engage on top of the shoe upper and pressand clamp-it firmly against the last opposed by the shoe rest of thejack, and to continue this clamped condition of the shoe throughout thesubsequent shifting moven'ient of the jack and shoe and the remainder ofthelasting process. Prefera'bly the jack has two successive shiftingmovements, the first serving to merely turn the shoe about a horizontalaxis, thereby inverting it and holding it with the toe pointed towardthe operator. in which position the side lasting operation isconveniently performed; the second shifting movement of the jack servingto turn the shoe about'a vertical axis until it stands in its final orheel and toe lasting position with the heel at the right and the toeat'the left of the operator. The jack mechanism is shown in differentadjustments in Figs. 4 to '10; the details of the clamp in Figs. 11 and12 and a modified form of clamp in Figs. 13 to 15.

The heel lastingor wiping mechanism is shown located generally at therighthand side of the machine in position to cooperate with the shoe inits aforesaid final posture while held in the jack. -The details areshown in Figs. 19.to 29. Similarly the toe lasting or wiping mechanism46 is located generally to the left hand side facing the toe of the shoewhen'hcld in the final jack position. The details are shown in Figs. 30to It will. be convenient to describe the jack mechanism. and the clampmechanism before describing the I pullingover and lasting mechanisms.The jack mechanism. designated as a whole by the reference is primarilysupported on the upstanding bracket- 40; The upper-end of the bracket 40forms a bearing for a horizontal fulcrum shaft, seen dotted in Figs. 1and 3. This shaft extends from right toleft and forms a pivot for themain jack arm 51. which is prefer ably integral with the shaft. and fromthe end of the shaftis curved first upwardly and then rearwardly andthen leftwardly in Figs. 1 to 5. Its extremity directly over i the locusof the shoe. and there provided with a vertical fulcrum shaft or pivot52 to \VlllCll is secured a secondary or smaller ack arm which extendsdownwardly 1n a curved manner to the shoe supporting position or locus.From the enlarged extremity of the jack arm 53 extends a shoe rest S-lwhich. as will be seen, is in such a position as to support the shoe inthe jack at a. point substantially in line with both of the :linlcruinshafts and 52 so that the swinging of either jack arm about either axismerely shifts the posture'of the shoe without substantially changingitslocus in the machine.

The shoe rest 54 is fitted to the jack so as v to permit the shoe totake its initial inclined posture as shown in Figs. 1 to 7, or to permitit to be swung into a horizontal posture as in Figs. 8 to'lO. To thisend the shoe rest is formed with a short horizontal fulcrum shaft 55 bywhich itis. pivoted to the .jack arm-53. The swinging of the fulcrumshaft and the shoe rest is effected through anupstanding arm 56 securedat its lower end to the shaft One edge of the arm 56 is provided withteeth 57 for a purpose which will be explained. The top end of the armis shap d to engage and fit the undercut groove formed at the lower sideof a curved segment piece or guide 58,

I rigidly secured to the jack arm 53.

The shoe may be shifted by hand to any desired angle with respect to thejack by the means just described, and may be secured in any adjustmentby a locking device between the arm 56 and the segment 58. F or example.the segment may have a toothed rack 59 within its undercut grooveadapted to be engaged by a vertically sliding toothed head (30 (see Fig.12). The toothed head (30 is formed at the extremity of a sliding rodtil and is pressed outwardly The sleeve (31+ adapted to move 'up anddownon the arm. a spring 5 tending to l'lO lift it for opening the clamp.and it being depressed b a handle ('16 by co'peration with the teeth 57'on the a rm 5(3. ill'z-e handle 66 is pivoted to the sl eve (it and atits fulcrum is provided with a pinion GT engaging the rack 57 of the....n 56. icfcrring to Fig. 11. it will be seen that depressing thehandle to its lowest position serves to move the sleevedownwardly on thearm,

thereby closing the clamp upon the shoe upper, whereas raising the armSGIYQS to open the clamp. A spring pressed pawl locking device (38 onthe handle 66 serves to secure the handle in its locked .position bycooper tion with a toothed rack 69 until the pa l is released by theoperator.

The shoe clamp 70 itself is not rigidly secured to thesleeve 64; but ispivotally messes mounted therein by the fulcrum or stud 71 which permitsthe clamp to be swung oetween the clamping position seen in Figs.

1 to. and a withdrawn position shown o ted lines Fig. 11 in which itgives 7 a cleaview of the pullingover operation.

A spring '52 tends always to swing the shoe clamp. outwardly toinoperative position and it may be swung backwardly into clampingposition by hand prior to the throwing down of the locking-handle 66.

The shoe clamp in its operative position overhangs the -oe rest 54, asbest seen in rie clamp at its lower side is generally concave.'bcingshaped to accommodate a plurality of clamping pads i3, is constitutedofsuch material as to avoid injury to the shoe. The central clamp 5 3 isshown rigidly secured to the clamp and its shoe contacting surfaceisprovided with a resilient material 75. The side clamp pads i i aremounted in ball and socket ioints at the ends of a pair of spring armsit which, in turn, are mounted upon adiustable segment-shaped carriers77 which threaded portions of a worm shaft 79 which at its exteriorextremity has an adjusting wheel or thumb nut 80. By turning the adjustng wheel 80 to right or left the side 1% are caused to circularlyapproach or recede from the center pad F 'l his en ables adjustment ofthe clamp to difierent shoes.

The'bodily swinging movements of the clamp 70 between operative andinoperative position are limited by stops. Thus a stop shoulder 81 onthe body of the clamp 70 meets a fixed shoulder 82 on the sleeve 6%. lheoutstanding rib or web 83 of the sleeve forms an abutment for the bodyof the clamp when swung into operative position. It is important thatthe clamp when in clamping position he held rigidl against any possibleplayor side movement and to this end the iveb 83 is provided with anundercut groove S-i (see Figs. 11 and 1'3) which is engaged at times bya corresponding dove-tail projection or rib 8513011 the clamp. hen theclamp is swung inwardly to clamping position. the projection engages thegroove and gives the desired solid support to the clamp.

"When the shoe has been clamped by the clamp 70 upon the shoe rest it isvery desirable that it shall not be disturbed durin: subsequent shiftingmovements and operations. To this end the shoe rest is proided with oneor more upstanding points 86 adapted to stick into the sole of the shoefor preventing slippage. In order that these points may not disfigurethe shoe during the act of adjusting it into place the points areprotected by a fiat resilient memher or spring 87. Normally the member8'? stands slightly above the level of the shoe rest, as seen in Fig.11, thus acting as a guard for the points, but when the shoe is clampedinto place the guard member is depressed upon the shoe rest causing theshoe points to protrude through the guard and into the sole of: theshoe.

A modified shoe upper clamping mechanism is illustrated in Figs. 13 to15. In these views'the machine is shown as provided with'a stationaryshoe rest ll which may be carried by the bracket 38 which carries' thepulling-over mechanism. This rest is intended to be used merely tosupport the shoe during the pulling-over and clamping operations. Beingstationary it is incapable of affording an abutment to oppose the clampthroughout the shifting of the shoe. Therefore, the modified clamp isprovided not only with the clamp parts above the upper, as shown inFigs. 4: to 12, but with other parts which reach below the shoe andengage the shoe sole in opposition to the first mentioned parts. D

As compared with the first described clamping mechanism the modifiedmechanism differs in the following respects. The clamp body 70 isslightly enlarged so as to accommodate a longitudinal slideway for aslide or block 88 adapted to move up and down in the operation ofadjusting the underreaching clamp parts into and out of place. Block 88is provided with a threaded recess at its upper side engaged by thethreaded lower end of rod 89, said rod having at its upper end anoppositely threaded portion engaging a correspond ingly threaded recessin the clamp body portion. A handle 90 at the upper end of the rod maybe turned for throwing the block 88 up and downl j The connections fromthe block 88 tothe underreaching clamp portions comprise a link 91 whichpivotally connects the block toa slotted head 92. The slots at the sidesof the head 92 engage with studs 93 formed at-the upper ends of levers94: which swing about sliding pivots 95. The lower ends of the levers9a. are provi-ddd with inturned hook-like extensions. or feet 96 looselyconnected to the levers by pivots 97 so that the feet-may readily adaptand position them selves to conform to the shape of the shoe, thisoperation being assisted by the presence of upstanding positioning ribs98.

Normally the underreaching clamp feet 96 stand wide-apart. When they areswung with the clamp for the purpose of ot a stop proie:

clamping the shoe, the feet extend under the shoe. By turning the handle90 so as to raise. the block 89 the described construction, as best seenin Fig. ll, causes first the inswinging of the levers 9-1 to bringthe-feta."

96 snugly against'the sides of the shoe, the continued lifting movementserving to pull u Liwardlv the levers with theffeet until the and clampmechanisms. F igs'. 1 t0 5 show them in initial or pulling-overposition, after the clamp has been applied to the shoe. When the jackand clamp are swung to brin the shoe to side lasting posture the partsassume the position shown in Figs. 6 and 7. This swinging takes placeabout the hori- I zoutal fulcrum and serves to invert the shoev Whensubsequently swung about the vertical fulcrum to bring the shoe intoheel and toe-lasting posture. the parts assume the position shown in FS. 5) and 10, also shown in Fig. 15 the shoe at this time having beenswung further about the fulcrum to bring the shoe into a more nearlyhorizontal posture. As these shifting operations are performed by handit desirable. to minimize the effort req iii-ed and to this end theweight of the jack arms 51 and 53 and connected parts is shown asctnmterbalances by means of a countenweight 99 secured below and rigidwith the horizontal fulcrum shaft 50 (see Figs. 1, and 3).

The upward swinging movement of the jack arm 51 s limilrd by means of astop device comprising a stop contact 100 on the jack arm 51 e g afined, proiection 101 from the hr When inverted. the jack is brought topro 'aer position by means :tion 102 wl'iieh. when swung downwardly,ent' a socket provided at iiji-i in a. member 10. .ecured to the base37' of the machine. This not only properly stops the swing ng movementof the incl: hut it positions its lower end and at the same {i re holdsthe iaclt. rigidly in place during ih i lastin operations.

1 I h n i 4 1.1a ulling-over n'lmzaanlsm. shown 5; eral'iy in Figs. 1..2 and 3. will now be referred to 11?. detail with additmnai re'iereneeto rigs. 1o, 17 and gripper member 115.

120. Forcing this tail upwardly The a no. i u portion. of the mechanismis carried on the upstandclosing the grippers upon the material of theshoe, and for locking them in closed posi tion, and for withdrawingthem, so as to stretch the material and pull it over the toe of theshoe, and for relatively varying the actions of the several grippersduring the pulling-over operation, and for finally reopening andrestoring the grippers to the original position; there being alsovarious adjusting means.

In all live grippers are shown, per 110, and at each side of the toe apair of side grippers 111. The five. grippers are substantially alike.Fig. 16 shows them in both. side and end views, andthe description maybe confined to that figure.

The gripper 110 is carried at the end of a a toe grip- 7 rod 112 andeach gripper 111 at the end of a rod 113. The rods are slidable upwardlyand downwardly in boxes 11%, the rods 113' being arranged in pairs indouble boxes. These boxes 114. are pi otally mounted on the bracketSSfor purposes of adjustmentas will be later described.

Each gripper rod 112 or 113 is at its upper end somewhat enlarged toafford a head. On this head is provided a. pivot for the movable Theextremity of the gripper member formed into a suitable gripping surface,being preferably serrated. It is adapted to swing toward and close upona co-acting gripper member 116, which is fixedly secured to the rod, butcapable of slight yielding under forcible pressure.

Each movable gripper member 115 is provided with a curved extension ortail 117 formed to act as a. cam during the closing of the gripper. Aspring 118 pulls upon the gripper tail and tends to open the gripper.For closing the gripper the head of the gripper carrying rod is providedwith an operating 1 yer 119 pivoted near its middle to the rod head andhaving a roll at its extremity cooperating with the cam shaped" tail 1!?of the movable gripper jaw. Swinging the lever to move the rolldownwardly throws outnardly the gripper tail and causes the closing ofthe gripper. he lever 119 is provided with a notched nsion or tailgripper. A springlock or arm to o -l; th parts in such position: we sring lot- 1 c:-. i the. pin of the lock to pa ot' the notch 'ot' thelever. To op per it is on y nec ssary to depress arm against its *hich.I mits its pin to again drop 1 position ilL'tl'le notch of lever 1. l.Byime'nt a very simple gripper cont issecured. A. pressure on the lever119 c and i gripper. -while the pressure an the unlocks the gripper.with is tl... opened by the spring 113.

To etl'eet the. opening and closing of all of the five gripperssiniuuaneously a. control device may be conveniently employed in theform shown in the figures, (see particularly Fig. 18), comprising acontrol piece or head 125 carried by a control rod 126. The controlpiece 125 has three extensions which are adapted to cooperate with theseveral levers 119 and the several lock arms 121 of the gripper devices.The rods 126 are longituthe lock arm 121 swinging outwardly to lock theparts in closed position. The control device has also an intermediateposition, in which it is inactive, the position of the control piece 125being such that it does not contact either the lever 119 or the arm 121during the pulling-over movements of the gripper. The control pieceon-,its return movement tonor'm'al position strikes and depresses thelock arm 121, thereby releasing the lever 119 and permitting the gripperto open and the notch of the lever to engage the pin of the'arm,as seenin Figs. 16 and 17.

Vl hile the gripper opening and closing might be controlled from varioussources, I have illustrated a pedal. gzThe connections may be asfollows: The control rod 126 extends downwardly through the bracket 38projecting below to the rear of the bracket, (as seen in Fig. 2-), and.extending to a suitable bearing 127 on thebase, where the rod has asliding fit. By a pin and slot connection 126 the rod is connected tothe rearwardly extending arm 129 of a bell crank lever whose upwardlyextending arm 130 is a tripping lever 138 centrally pivoted to the baseas shown, and a spring 139 is arranged to pull upon the link and leverso as to hold the latch in its effective position. ator thereby hasmerely to depress the lever to close and lock the grippers and torelease it, when it comes up against the hook 136, remaining thereduring the pulling-over operation, whereupon the operator may lightlykick the lever 138 to the left, thus throwing out the latch andpermitting the pedal 133 to rise, thus depressing the rod 126, openingthe grippers, and restoring the parts to original position.

The upward and downward movement of the toe gripper and the grippers ateither side may be effected in different ways, but. I prefer separatecontrol levers. The connections between the toe gripper carrying rod 112and its lever are somewhat. different from the connections for the othergrippers and will be separately described. A collar 141 is adjustablysecured on the rod 112 beneath the box 114, forming a stop for theconnected by a link 131 with the upwardly extending arm 132- of a secondbell crank, whose forwardly extending arm 133 constitutes acontrolpedal.

A spring 134 tends to hold the pedal elevated and the rod 126 depressed,and thereby the grippers in open position. By depressing the pedal fromits illustrated lifted position to its completely lowered .;position therod 126 is raised to effect the closing and locking of the grippers. Ithas been explained that the control rod should stand in an intermediateposition during the pull ing-over operations so as to not interfere withor cause release of the grippers. This resultmay be attained by a latchdevice for holding the pedal 133 in an intermediate position.

is pivoted to the base at its lower end and is provided with a hook 136adapted to hook over and hold down the t-readle lever 133. The latchlever is connected by a link 137 to A latch lever 135 (see Figs. 1 andupward movement of' the gripper and affording means of attaching aspring 142 which tends always to lift the gripper into its upward ornormal position. For forcibly depressing the gripper to stretch orpullover the material of the shoe upper, the

T he operfollowing connections may be e1nployed.-

The rod 112, by a pin and slot connection 143, is pivoted to a lever144, the lever being centrally journaled toa bracket 145 projecting fromthe bracket 38. The lever 144 is connected by an upwardly extending link146 to a generally horizontal lever 14'? journaled upon a pivot shaft148 at the top of the high upstanding bracket 39 of the machine. Thelever 14'? is extended forwardly beyond its pivot in the form of ahandle 149 which is in easy reach of the operator.- It

will be seen that by pulling down on the handle 149 the toe gripper ispulled forcibly downward.

The mechanism for pulling down the side grippers 111 at the two sides ofthe toe preferably comprise first a pair of independent handlevers bywhich the two sides may be independently pulled under the observation ofthe operator to insure symmetry in the pulling-over operation and apowerfulfoot lever which simultaneously pulls down the grippers at bothsides for the final stretching at this point of the. shoe. whichoperation may be performed in conjunction with the pulling-over by handat the extreme front of the too by means of the al ready describedconnections for the toe gripper 110.

Referring back to Figs. 16 and 17, the.

from the center of which extends a link Cir .These'two connecting rods(see F ig. 2), ex-

tend downwardly to where they have a sliding ball engagement with acylindrical socket in the bearing piece 127 on the base. Each of therods 156 has a slotted pivot connection 157 with a.=-rock arm-158 faston a rock shaft 159 fulcrumed in the base, so that any turning of therock shaft simultaneously actuates both of the rods 156 and, therefore,all of shaft '1 59 has a forwardly extending arm 160 which connects withthe rear extension of a pedal lever 161/ With this arrangementdepression of, thcpedal 161 causes depression of bothrods 156 and thesimultaneous pulling down of all of the side grippers 111.

For independentlypulling-over or adjust-@- ing the two sides of, theupper by ,hand levers the following connect-ions may be employed.Reverting back-to the levers 153 in Figs. 16 and 17, it Willfbe seenthat the blocks 155 act as fuloru'n'is when pulling over by the pedal161 just described. \Vhen pulling over by "hand the pedal connection 156forms the fulcrum and the blocks 155 are raised to pull down thegrippers. For this purpose ,the blocks 155 are constructed to constituteslides movable upwardly and downwardly on slideways 162. Each slideblock 155 has a pivotal connection with a lever arm 163 pivoted toabracket 164, the lever having a second arm 165 which. is con nected byan u nvardly extending link 166 (see Fig. 2) with a lever 167 fulcrumedon the same previously mentioned fulcrum shaft 148 at the top of thehigh upstanding bracket 39 The lever 167 has a forward extension forminga handle 168 at the front which may be -;con\-cniently grasped andcompressed. Since there is a handle 168 for the grippers at each side,the grippers are independently movable. In the preliminary pulling-overoperation, the operator may work both the handles 168 while observingthe shoe until the upper has been evenly and symmetrically stretched atthe two sides. At this time the hand levers are adapted to become lockedso as to hold the parts; including the fulcrum blocks 155, in positionduring the subsequent pedal controlled j'iulling-ovcr operation. To thisend each handle 168 is provided with small 100K lever 169 pivoted-dothehandle and serving,

through a small bell-crank 170, to unlock a toothed locking device 171which is normally held locked by the lock lcvcr spring. hus the operatormay at will adjust the the side grippers. The rock ing the gripper intotwo side levers- 168 for the pulling-over operation or may release andrestore them preparatory 'to operations'on another shoe.

'38. This allows a slight swinging of the gripper rod and gripper, whichis permitted to be done without disturbing the operating connections. byreason of the slotted con nection 143 previously referred to. To controlthe swinging adjustment of the box it byth'e enlarged end of anadjusting screw 178, the threaded portion of which engages a threadedrecess in the bracket, said screw having an accessible nut or wheel 179by which the screw may be turned for swingthe desired position. somewhatdifferent adjusting mechais provided for the side grippers 111. Theboxes in which the carrying rods 113 slide are symmetrically pivoted at180 at opposite sides of a lug 181 projecting from the bracket 38. Theswinging of the boxes about the pivots 180 is permitted by the slotconnection 152 previously :described. To effect the swinging adjustmentof the boxes each of them is provided with a link 182, these linksextending to a central head 183 which is adjustable up and down. Thishead is slotted to accommodate the before mentioned adjusting screw 178.The head 183 is slidable upon a guide 184. on the bracket 38. .Engagedwith an outstanding lug 185 of the head 183 is an adjusting screw 186which also passes through the fixed lug 181. having a pair of collars toprevent endwisc movement therein. The thumb nut or wheel 187 at theextremity of the screw permits hand adjustment thereof so as to move thehead 18% up and down and thereby through the links 182 swing thegrippers slightly one way or the other, as desired.

The operation of the pulling-over mechanism will now be understood. Itis assumed that the milling-over mechanism including the grippers haveeen n-opcrly adjusted for a given batch. of shoes. The adjusting meanshave been described and. are quickly manipulated. to set the partstomatch the dimensions or style of the shoes to be lasted. The operatorhaving positioned the shoe upon the shoerest with the margin of theupper between the several gripper jaws depresses the pedal 133 to itslowermost posi 1S rovided with a socket at 1.77 en 'a ed- .P a: g

diate position in which it leaves the grip- 149, or may actuate firstone and then the other as he observes the effect upon the toe cap.During the pulling-over operation unequal stretching ofthe leather mayoccur,

especially at the sides; and'this the operator can quickly compensatefor by the side levers 168. These levers are independently movable tosecure propen-symmetry-and accurate alinement in the pulling-overoperation.

Each of the side levers wh'en thus pulled down to secure properali-nement becomes locked so that the-final pedal. pulling opera-- tionmay be properly performed in cooperation with'the central lever 1 19 incompleting the pulling-over operation. The two side grippersconstituting each pair are caused to equally stretch the leather at oneside by reason of the equalizing lever 150 "forming part oftheir mutualconnections.

The completion of the. pulling-over operation is followed'by theclamping operation by which the upper is forcibly pressed against thelast above the shoe rest. This operation has already been described.This operation'connects the shoe withthe jack so that all the subsequentshoe shifting improvements are effected by adjustment of the jack asdescribed. As soon as the shoe clamp has-been properly applied in themanner explained, the shoe must be disengaged from the pulling-overmechanism, which is done merely by the operator kicking the lever 138which effects the opening of the grippers. The pedal 161 and the levers149 and 168 which may have been held down up to this point, should nowbe released and returned to normal position. The machine and the shoeare now ready for. subsequent operations, namely, the side lastingoperation and the heel and toe lasting operations. To bring the shoeinto its side lasting posture, the jack is simply swung about itshorizontal fulcrum 50. This inverts the shoe from the posture shown inFigs. 4 and 5 to the posture shown in Figs. 6 and. 7, the toe of theshoe being now generally toward the operator. The side lasting may nowbe performed by any desired appliances, and the side or shank of theshoe upper secured in place around the sole. The operator may firs: sidelast one .side of the. shoe and then the other swinging the shoe. aroundabout its vertical fulcrum 52 into different angular position asdesired. To bring the shoe to its final posture, the vertical fulcrum isem ployed, the jack arm 53 being swung by a hand until the parts assumethe ad]ustment "201 in the base.

downward extension as shown in Figs. 8, 9,10 and 15. The heel of theinverted shoe now stands at the right of the operator and the toe at theleft. The machine is now ready to bring the heel last- 'ingor, wipingmechanism l5 and the toe the toe, the heel lasting mechanism will befirst described.

The heellasting mechanism shown gen. erally in- Figs. 1 and 3, and indetail in Figs. 19 to 29, is carried firmly but adjustably upon the base'37 of the machine by means of a solid upright shaft or stem 20 of largediameter, fitting within a socket This device affords a bearing or,vertical axis directly beneath the shoe for the purpose of swinging theheel lasting mechanism forwardly or rearwardly. From the top of the stem200 extends toward the right, a heavy swinging arm 2 02, the upturnedextremity 203 of which constitutes a hollow head or base upon which theheavy lasting mechanism is supported.

The wiping devices or plates forming part of the lasting means and theheel clamping means cotiperating therewith, are borne not directly onthe hollow head 203, but upon the top carriage of a series of carriageswhich are interposed between the head and the wipers. The carriages ofthis series are relatively movable or adjustable in different ways, soas to afford universal adjustment of the heel lasting mechanism. topermit it to be properly positioned with relation to shoes of differentsize, shape and style. These carriages will first be described, by

head 903, the head thus forming a bearing for the rotation of thecarriage. in order to effect rotary adjustment. the carriage is provided"with a worm whccl 20S. connected by a spline 209 with the carriage soas to permit up and down movements of the latter. A down-hold 210 isemployed to hold the worm wheel in place. The worm wheel is acted uponby a worm upon a worm shaft 211. see Fig. 1. which may be rotated atwill by hand wheel 212. Thus the operator by the use of the wheel mayturn the entire hecl lasting mechanism about its central vertical aXiS.

In order to effect lifting and lowering adjustment, the first carriage206 has its .207, interiorly thread- 'reference to Figs. 1, 19 and 26.The first

